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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · degree · fine · prune · ground · content · stock · root

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. content — the amount
  3. ground — crushed
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. degree — from a university
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. content — happy
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. toast — bread
  14. prune — to trim
  15. root — of a word
  16. stock — goods
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stock — shares
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — to trim
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com